Kodak Names 2010 Gallery Elite Award Winners at Imaging USA Annual Conference

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) unveiled the winners of the annual KODAK Gallery Elite Award, which honors top professionals in the wedding and portrait photography industry and celebrates how they've combined their skills along with KODAK PROFESSIONAL Products and services to distinguish themselves in the market. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the KODAK Gallery Awards, which are the series of state and regional awards, held throughout the United States and Canada each year leading up to the Gallery Elite Award.  Kodak celebrated the KODAK Gallery Elite Award winners at a reception last evening at Imaging USA (I-USA) in San Antonio, TX, the annual conference and trade show of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA).

George DeLoache, of George DeLoache Photography (www.georgedeloache.com), received the grand prize award for his photograph, "Nefertiti Revisited."  DeLoache, based in North Hollywood, CA, specializes in executive portraits, corporate photography, fine art & family portraits, and actor headshots.  This work so impressed the judges that they described it as: "In form and function, which is truest to our craft, this beautiful, traditional, classical black-and-white portrait is of the highest quality.  It does not have the appearance of having been digitally manipulated, even if, in fact, it had been.  It is timeless, expressive and compelling professional photography at its best."

"Each of our KODAK Gallery Elite Awards winners offers a very distinctive, unique service to their clients," said Christopher S. Van Zandt, Vice President & General Manager, Paper & Output Systems, Americas Region, FPEG, Eastman Kodak Company. "We're honoring these photographers for their artistry, as well as how they've made Kodak's professional photography offerings a key component in continually delivering high-quality, long-lasting output to their clients."

In addition to DeLoache, three photographers received KODAK Gallery Elite Awards:  

• 2nd Place: Tim Kelly, Fine Portraiture by Tim Kelly, Inc., Lake Mary, FL (http://www.timkellyportraits.com), for his image titled "Soon"
• 3rd Place: Steve Ervin, Ervin Photography, Tulsa, OK (www.ervinphotography.com), for "First Fitting"
• 4th Place: Don Emmerich, Studio Art Photography, Oklahoma City, OK (www.studioartphotography.com), for "A Glorious Day"

Kodak honored all of these photographers at a gala reception last evening at I-USA. In addition to being featured in the winner's circle gallery in San Antonio and receiving the coveted Gallery Elite Crystal trophy, each winner receives a substantial dollar credit at the professional photo lab of their choice for lab services that utilize KODAK PROFESSIONAL Products.  Also, the winners' images will be hosted on kodak.com, as well as featured in Kodak promotional materials.  The ceremony also paid tribute to the hundreds of other 2010 KODAK Gallery Award recipients throughout the United States and Canada.  During 2010, professional photographers affiliated with the PPA in all 50 states and Canada competed for Gallery Awards in five categories:

• Portrait or Landscape Print
• Wedding Print
• Illustrative, Commercial, Electronic Image Print
• Printed Album or Book (any category)
• Print or Album using KODAK PROFESSIONAL ENDURA Metallic VC Digital Paper

State and regional winners of Gallery Awards who used KODAK PROFESSIONAL Products, such as KODAK PROFESSIONAL Film, Papers and/or Chemistry in the creation or production of their works, were eligible to compete for the KODAK Gallery Elite Award.

For more information, please visit www.kodak.com/go/professional.

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SOURCE Kodak